Week of May 18, 2009

The Air Transport Association reported last Friday that they expect the number of people flying this summer to drop by 7% compared to last year. What does this mean for us? We need to determine what people in our markets are going to be doing with their vacation time and be prepared to help the businesses that can profit from it.

We should be targeting hotels and restaurants at vacation (or staycation) areas near home. There will be different businesses in each market that could benefit from the need to stay close. Make target lists of those businesses, both large and small. You know your markets and things like Google and yellowpages.com are just a keystroke away with thought starters.

I decided to Google someplace I have never been, so I typed in "Minot, North Dakota vacations." Instantly there were lists of hotels, a link to "affordable and family-friendly vacation ideas in South Dakota," and lists of things like Scandanavian Heritage Park, Roosevelt Park Zoo, Riverwalk, and on and on. It was a treasure trove of leads. Send out the troops leaving no stone unturned. The time to do it is now.

I read in Advertising Age this week that many national companies are going to be moving some of their limited advertising dollars back to brand advertising. The Association of National Advertisers commissioned a survey that included questions about types of advertising. One of the more interesting results is that 74% of senior marketers in the survey believe "brand equity" is important to their company's success. It is a great article and I suggest you get a copy.

One of the more interesting parts of it quotes Dunkin' Donuts VP/Consumer Engagement Cynthia Ashworth. The economic climate played into the company's branding because it had established itself as an "everyman" brand. They have increased brand advertising spending and she expects to have a larger market share in post-recession America. Why? Because they didn't forgo advertising their brand.

Marty Ordman, the VP/Marketing and Communications at Dole, says that although the company has not traditionally done a lot of brand marketing, they are considering increasing it. In a recession, people are driven toward less expensive private/store brands. He says this reminds board level executives of the value of a brand and the need to strengthen it through advertising.

Take this information and pull it down to the local level. I am sure you have advertisers, or former advertisers, who still have a great brand and are suffering. What about the car dealer who has been in business for 50 years and has a great reputation, but is struggling now ... the supermarket chain, any other local retailer, an attorney, etc.?

Businesses that come out of a recession strong are usually those who remain top-of-mind. Although it seems like it will go on forever, the recession WILL end.

Larry Wilson, one of radio's great former owners, is getting back in the business. This is an important indicator that everyone needs to take seriously. Larry sold Citadel to Forstmann Little in 2001 for $2.1 billion and has been holding his cards since then.

We have been going through tough times and the radio business will never be the same as it was back in the day. There have been others who have quietly stepped back into radio over the last year or two, but none as high profile as Larry. With people getting back in the business at what appears to be bargain prices, you'd better hone your skills in "radio 2009" because some very good operators are going to need people who can maximize their investment. Although some of the people getting back in the business were owners when radio was a different business, they are very bright and realize it is a new day and will be looking for people who can operate in today's and tomorrow's environment.

I know the idea of dealing with Arbitron's Personal People Meter sends some in the radio business into varying degrees of rage, but it looks like nothing is going to stem the tide. PPM will continue to be a reality until something better comes along. Nineteen more markets will go on line by the end of this year.

Several people have decided to not encode their stations. I hope those people will reconsider even though they are not buying the service. The benefits for all of radio, PPM subscribers and non-subscribers, far outweigh the message sent by not encoding. Is PPM the ideal method? Probably not. Has anyone come up with a better idea? No. The debate has already improved the service and I'm sure it will continue to improve.

I don't want to appear to be an Arbitron cheerleader because nothing could be further from the truth. However, at this time, with the economy where it is, and radio's revenues suffering, we don't need to appear to be fighting progress. Any of us who have had to live without Arbitron during contentious negotiations can testify -- without access to ratings you can become a non-entity in a nano-second. Let's get it done and work to improve it.

As we enter a time of increasingly centralized programming, it is up to you to encourage your employees, give them opportunities to exercise their imaginations and stimulate creativity among each other in the shows that remain locally produced.

All great creative people have had influence on each other. Let me give you an example not in the radio business. The painter Gauguin was an early influence on Van Gogh and even after they parted ways in Van Gogh's legendary ear cutting rage, they still influenced each other. Gauguin began to have more religious themes; influenced by Van Gogh's strong religious background. He began using brighter colors and thicker brush strokes like Van Gogh. (Remember, Gauguin was the early mentor, but was later influenced by Van Gogh.) At the same time, Van Gogh began using Gauguin's technique of painting from memory causing his work to become more decorative and less realistic.

Creative people breed creativity in each other. Your job is to encourage it and remove obstructions. I know, you are thinking that most people in your stations are doing two, three, maybe four jobs and don't have time. You must make time to let imaginations flourish. If we forget our product, we have no business. Spending time on creativity makes all the other "stuff" more bearable.